Biogeochemical prospecting for gold by neutron activation analysis

Shoot material of Chamaespartium tridentatum and Festuca ovina, collected together with soils from a rectangular pattern grid in an area in Spain, was analyzed for gold by instrumental neutron activation analysis. Values of gold were found to range from less than 1.0 x 10-3 μg g-1(d.w.) at background sites to 65.4 x 10-3μg g-1 in the leaves of F. ovina in anomalous areas. The two plants studied were abundant on the site; they exhibited markedly different rooting patterns and they showed a degree of accumulation of gold in proportion to the concentration of the element in the soil. Seasonal variation in the gold concentration was noted. This work has emphasized the desirability of including plant analytical data in an evaluation of the mineral potential of a given area and should, in the case of gold, place mineral prospecting on an even sounder basis